Manhunt (2017)

The result is television that (occasionally) fails to pop with excitement, but nevertheless engages on an almost Fincher-ian level. Add in the fact that it’s all really true, and looking away from Manhunt is a hard thing to do.

The series is a surprising win on all fronts. It’s equal parts true-crime drama, psychological thriller and the moving personal stories of two men on different sides of the law who had eerily similar connections (or disconnections) to the society around them.

It’s an enormous puzzle, but the series manages to keep things taught and engaging throughout. It’s academic bent is also a little inspiring.

It's finally the cast and the little investigative beats that kept me watching and enjoying Manhunt: Deadly Games through to the end. It doesn't sell Jewell's victimization short, nor does it let the media or government off the hook. It just shows how stories like this can benefit from depth, no matter what other problems they have.

Sodroski and Dinner’s conscientiousness produces the kind of episodes that viewers should have to sit with before moving on to the next one, in part because they challenge expectations of what comes next—if only they had the time.

The two episodes available for review, Manhunt: Unabomber has a by-the-book feel--a lot of forensics and theories. It’s not until the last few minutes that Bettany’s Kaczynski is really introduced.

Unfortunately, the plodding Manhunt: Unabomber miniseries often fails to bring its principals to any kind of recognizable or specific life.

A little over a month ago I saw the movie called Ted K, which is about Theodore Kaczynski, the Unabomber, which I thought was quite competent, especially Sharlto Copley's fine performance as the domestic terrorist. Watching it prompted me to finish this show that I started a few months ago, but only saw one episode then and forgot about it. The series may not have any subtlety, but the style delivered never points to it. This is more of a story focused on suspense, but it doesn't lose congruence. Sam Worthington is a nice lead playing the FBI agent in charge of the investigation, and manages to carry the role without any problems other than the formulaic script, but who wins the palms is Paul Bettany who delivers an absorbing performance as Kaczynski. Perhaps the biggest complaint is that the narrative could have benefited from a deeper approach, but in terms of functionality as entertainment, I think it delivers above the norm.

Paul Bettany is excellent as the Unabomber and the show is pretty thorough in regards to details of the manhunt. The problem is that the lead is a fictional character, and Sam Worthington is a horrible actor- he just mumbles his lines. Fair though not great.